Comment: Reassure flyers that lessons will be learned

There are certain news stories that simultaneously evoke an array of emotions.

Watching rolling coverage of the aftermath of the Germanwings tragedy, I’m sure all of us in the industry felt everything from horror and disbelief to anger and sympathy.

There is something desperately sad about the security measures that were put in place to protect those in the air apparently being abused by one individual to allow those very passengers to perish.

But among the recriminations and reassuringly rapid responses, all of us in the industry have a duty, aside of any business imperative, to counter misapprehensions about the safety of air travel.

This is not the first time travel has been the unwitting accomplice to an unimaginable act of mass murder, and regrettably no doubt it won’t be the last.

Sadly, there is no cast-iron way to guard against the actions of an individual who is intent on causing damage or loss of life – whether they be an airline pilot or a person on the street.

But the vast majority of people who work in the aviation sector and the wider industry have an unwavering commitment to their customers’ safety. I read this week moving accounts of how some pilots took it upon themselves to shake the hands of every single passenger before taking off.

No doubt there will be lessons learned from this particular tragedy so that we will never see its like again.

And hopefully it will not put people off a mode of transport which has brought so many benefits to us all.